A Change In The Administration of the Ekklesia

It is first important for us to see that we are being built into a spiritual house, a dwelling for our God. Paul says in Eph. 2:20-22,

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. In Whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the LORD. In Whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.

We are built upon the foundation that has been laid down by the apostles and the prophets. "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." Jesus is the foundation for the building of God, and the Chief Cornerstone. The cornerstone "is the primary foundation-stone at the angle of the structure by which the architect fixes a standard for the bearings of the walls and cross-walls throughout" (W. W. Lloyd). The whole edifice is built and dependent upon the correctness of the cornerstone. The whole of the building is developed using the cornerstone as the sure marker of perfection.

Notice also that this building 'grows' into a holy temple. Since we are dealing with Living Stones (I Pet. 2:5), we are talking about organic growth. God is the God of the living, not the dead! The Church is a living organism, not a structured institutional organization. The Body of Jesus is a living and active organism, who draws its life and direction from the Head. We are growing into a holy temple unto the Lord, not into the treasure cities for Pharaoh. Suffice it say for now, the Scriptures describe believers in Jesus, as living stones, not bricks.

As stated earlier, pharaohs deal in bricks, but God deals with living stones. The picture that Scripture gives us, is that as living stones, we are being built into a spiritual house, for a habitation of God through His Spirit. In other words, we are being built into a dwelling place for God through His Spirit. The greatest picture we have of this is Solomon's Temple. The Temple was to be the place where God met with man, and where God made his Name to rest. The actual construction of the temple is of great importance and interest to our understanding. Only a few of the points of the building will be discussed here.

In preparing to build the first temple, David made certain preparations for it during his reign. I Chron. 22:2, says,

And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.

The stones were to be the work of craftsmen, skilled in wrought stones. This skill is evidenced by the manner in which these stones were worked. This is found in I Kings 6:7,

And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither; so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

Notice that the house of God was constructed of stone made ready, or stone that had been finished, before it was brought to the building site. The stones were cut and made to fit, before they ever came to the temple site. All the cutting and shaping of the stones were done in the quarry, by the master artificers of stone.

This is a glorious truth revealed here. God by His Spirit, the Master Artisan, is cutting and shaping us as living stones here in this earthly quarry. All that God does and allows in our lives is the evidence of God's craftsmanship in us. He is working to create, to fashion us into the image of His Son, Jesus the Messiah. Whatever does not look like Jesus is chipped away, so that the final product will be able to take its place in the Temple Building. He is carefully conforming us into the Image of His Son, not mass-producing us in cookie-cutter fashion, as the pharaohs do. God takes special care with each stone, for each stone has its own special place in the Temple. Bricks can fit anywhere, but stones were cut to fill a specific place in God's building.

So take heart beloved of the Lord, when the hammer and chisel of the Spirit is applied to your life. It is not the act of God's anger or displeasure, but the loving and faithful hand of God's fathering nature, to mold you into a fitting form for His Kingdom and For His Dwelling. For I know,

All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. [Rom. 8:28] AND,

Being confident of this very thing, that He, which hath begun a good work in you, will perform (complete) it until the Day of Jesus Christ. [Phil. 1:6] AND,

The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; thy mercy, O LORD, endures forever, forsake not the works of thine own hands. [Ps. 138:8]